ZDNet Readers' Choice: Top 25 free, lightweight apps

In February, I asked ZDNet readers for the free, lightweight applications they simply can't live without. After tallying the suggestions in the comments and via e-mail -- and there were an awful lot of good suggestions, believe me -- here are the 25 most popular.

In February, I asked ZDNet readers for the free, lightweight applications they simply can't live without. After tallying the suggestions in the comments and via e-mail -- and there were an awful lot of good suggestions, believe me -- here are the 25 most popular.

Editor's note: Don't see a download for your operating system? Use the official site link.

1.) VLC

By far the most recommended application, VLC is the Swiss Army knife of media players: it will play pretty much any file type you throw at it, as well as rip CDs and DVDs, convert video files to iPod-friendly formats and stream media to other computers.

2.) FoxIt Reader

FoxIt Reader is a small, fast PDF reader that conveniently replaces Adobe Reader on Windows, Windows Mobile, Linux and more. There are no splash windows at startup, and the app features annotation as well as PDF-to-text conversion.

7.) Opera

Behind Mozilla Firefox stands Opera, another speedy standout web browser that many would argue doesn't get enough proper attention. With added security and plenty of handy shortcuts, Opera is a lightweight browser of choice.

9.) Evernote

Like to take notes but can't keep track of all of them? Evernote solves your problem by capturing, storing and managing your data across platforms -- from your desktop PC to various mobile devices, including the iPhone, Palm Pre, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices.

10.) Notepad++

Evident in its name, Notepad++ was designed to replace Notepad with a more robust feature set for source code editing. It manages to do so by supporting several coding languages (C, C++, Java, HTML, XML, PHP, CSS, Flash ActionScript, etc.) and offering syntax highlighting.

11.) CCleaner

ZDNet readers' most popular registry and browser cleaner, program uninstaller and startup folder editor multitool by far, CCleaner gets the job done quickly, with a tiny footprint and ongoing updates to keep things fresh.

12.) Skype

The application that brought voice-over-IP, or VoIP, to the masses, Skype remains the most popular and versatile phone and videoconferencing tool out there -- especially for intercontinental communication. It's available for Windows, Mac, Linux and several mobile phones, including the iPhone, Windows Mobile, Nokia and even PSP.

13.) InfraRecorder

When it comes to burning and ripping CDs and DVDs, plenty of ZDNet readers prefer InfraRecorder, an open source app for Windows that can handle ISO, BIN/CUE, dual-layer DVDs and four methods of erasing discs.

14.) TextPad & Smultron

TextPad for Windows and Smultron for Mac achieve similar goals on separate platforms: both programs are robust code-editing tools with syntax markup and a wealth of useful tools and shortcuts. Naturally, both are beloved by developers.

16.) FileZilla

Users looking for a free FTP program turn to FileZilla, an open source app that is available for Windows, Mac and Linux and offers a fairly robust feature set (IPv6, resume files, drag and drop, transfer speed limits, etc.).

17.) Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

It's not easy to find a lightweight way to scan your computer for files from the dark side of the 'Net, but Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware does the trick quite nicely. A scan will take less than 10 minutes, preventing your productivity from grinding to a halt.

18.) Audacity

You can do a surprising amount of audio editing with the free (albeit slightly finnicky) Audacity, an open source app that lets you record and edit audio in a multi-track interface. It's available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

19.) KeepPass

It's not easy to remember the 457 passwords you (are supposed to) have, so open source KeePass makes it easy by helping you manage them all securely. Simply remember your master password and you're good to go. It's available officially for Windows with unofficial versions for Mac, Linux and mobile platforms.

21.) GIMP & Paint.NET

The amazingly full-featured GIMP is the everyman's Adobe Photoshop, and packs a surprising amount of power into a free, open source image editing application. If you're looking for something even lighter, Paint.NET is the way to go, and claims a lot of support from the ZDNet ranks.

22.) Belarc Advisor

Power users who want to know the ins and outs of every piece of hardware and every installed program on their computer would be wise to check out Belarc Advisor, which gives your Windows PC a full system audit in minutes.

23.) Everything

24.) TrueCrypt

TrueCrypt is a free, on-the-fly disk encryption program that ZDNet readers love. From virtual encrypted disks to partition encrypts and automatic settings, this program gets the job done, no questions asked.

25.) Launchy

The fastest little Windows application launcher on the planet, Launchy can be summoned with a keystroke and allows you to easily find anything on your computer -- rendering your start menu and desktop icons useless.

Honorable Mention: Microsoft Windows Sysinternals Suite

Several readers recommended the Sysinternals Suite, which is a collection of more than 60 individual troubleshooting tools, including Process Explorer, which shows you information about which DLL processes have opened or loaded, and AutoRuns, which shows you what runs automatically at startup and in which order.

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